M-O-T Junior baseball ready to defend its District Title

The M-O-T Junior baseball team begins playoff action on July 15th at 6 p.m. against Harrington. The District tournament will be played at the Smyrna Baseball Complex.

Comment

By Joe Backerjoe.backer@doverpost.com@DelSportsJoe

Middletown Transcript

By Joe Backerjoe.backer@doverpost.com@DelSportsJoe

Posted Jul. 11, 2014 at 10:45 PM

By Joe Backerjoe.backer@doverpost.com@DelSportsJoe

Posted Jul. 11, 2014 at 10:45 PM

A new group of talented baseball players hope to continue its team’s winning tradition starting this week.

The M-O-T, Middletown-Odessa-Townsend All-Stars are hoping to repeat last year’s feat of winning the Junior Division District One championship

Head coach George Kilbride said his team arrived at the first practice in good baseball shape, and each player has worked hard to hone their individual skills.

Kilbride said this is a special group of baseball players. “Usually when you get a team together, there are different levels of talent. But all of these kids are all-stars, so we had high expectations when we started practices. All of the players, every one of them, have worked hard to get better as an athlete and a ball player,” he said, “We have 13 all-stars on our roster.”

One of the strengths of this year’s team is the pitching. “We are really blessed with pitching, we have Matt Morriston, Chris Clark, Austin Wyatt and Tyler Murray who are solid pitchers, and we have several more who throw the ball well. To win any tournament, I think you need at least five quality pitchers, said Kilbride.

The team’s hitting and defense are also solid heading into the playoffs. “Our hitting is much strong than it was last week, and we are really coming together as a team. Matt and Chris are returnees from last year, and they have definitely show the type of leadership that will help us be successful. Jack McDermott has also stepped up during practices, he added.”

Kilbride said this team and the coaching staff have high expectations. “M-O-T always goes into playoffs with the potential of winning the district. When M-O-T goes on the field, there is usually a lot of respect shown by the opponents. We have been blessed with success up through the regional level.”

M-O-T renews its quest of another District title on July 15 at 6 p.m. when they play Harrington at the Smyrna Baseball Complex.